ABC Buys Western From Ron Moore

Deadline has reported that ABC has purchased a pitch from Battlestar guru Ron Moore. Moore's new project, Hangtown, is a western procedural from Sony Pictures TV, where Moore is under an overall deal. Moore, who was a developer and executive producer of Battlestar Galactica and also a writer for the Caprica prequel, will be an EP for the new project. Hangtown will feature three unlikely crime-fighting characters.

In a similar vein to HBO's Deadwood of a few years past, Hangtown will focus on a lawless frontier town undergoing sudden change. Rather than dealing with the politics of annexation, however, Hangtown is experiencing rapid growth due to a coming railroad and is set a bit later, in the early 1900s. The program's unlikely trio of main characters consists of a marshal (no surprises here), a doctor, and a young writer. The marshal is described as a Matt Dillon or Clint Eastwood type who follows his gut. The doctor comes from the East Coast and will bring old school forensics for solving crimes. The writer is a young woman trying to sell "dime novels" to East Coast publishing houses about crime in the Wild West.

Hangtown is only the latest western to join the fray. ABC has already bought the 1880s Western Gunslinger from ABC studios. AMC has an 1860s Western on the way, called Hell On Wheels. TNT ordered a pilot for the 1880s Gateway and NBC recently purchased a female-centric western in addition to showing interest in Moore's new project. Wow! Needless to say, if you're a fan of westerns you've got your hands full for the small screen in the near future.